Appetizer Definition: Small Dish Before Main Course

Meaning 1：starter dish (Appetizer)

Appetizer 🔊

/ˈæpɪtaɪzər/

A small dish of food eaten before the main course to make you more hungry.

Appetizer plate with spring rolls and salad on table

starter dish 🔊

➕

/ˈstɑːrtər dɪʃ/

A small portion of food served at the start of a meal to stimulate the appetite.

📁 Category：Diet & Health 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'appetere' (to seek after), from 'ad-' (to) + 'petere' (to seek).

💡 Mnemonic

An appetizer makes your appetite rise – both start with 'app'.

📖 Example

Before our main pizza, we decided to share a plate of garlic bread as an appetizer. 🔊 Before our main pizza, we decided to share a plate of garlic bread as an appetizer.

🔗 Collocations

light appetizer – a small, low-calorie starter dish

as an appetizer – served before the main course as a starter

appetizer menu – a list of small dishes available before the main meal

🔄 Synonyms

starter (n.) – a small dish served as the first course of a meal

hors d'oeuvre (n.) – a small savory dish served at the beginning of a meal

antipasto (n.) – an Italian starter dish, typically consisting of cured meats, cheeses, and vegetables

🚫 Antonyms

main course (n.) – the primary dish of a meal, served after the starter

dessert (n.) – a sweet course served at the end of a meal

🌱 Derivatives

appetizing (adj.) – stimulating the appetite; appealing

appetizer (n.) – a small dish served before a meal

📖 Cultural Story

Appetizer comes from Latin 'appetitus' meaning 'desire'. The term evolved through Old French 'apetit' and later acquired its modern culinary meaning in the 1800s.